The Aftermath of Pieta
by Supreme Distraction
Summary: She was dead-she had to be. We had all seen her die; Helen, Miria, Deneve and myself. Although... the body had never been found in the aftermath. Deneve had chalked it up a 'got eaten by the enemy' in her usual crass way. Yuri ClarexJean
1. Chapter 1

My first fic! Please read and review Chapter two will be up soon.

My region was unusually peaceful during that early fall morning and I took full advantage of it.

Miria had come to visit and 'borrowed' -as she put it- Raki for the day, thus I was alone.

And alone was good. My trip through the forest surrounding the current house Raki and I were using for once did not merit the companionship of my claymore- a broadsword that yoma slayers like myself used. Although I did wear my uniform: a long sleeve shirt and pants(both cloth), faulds(1), and sabatons(2), I chose not to wear the vambraces(3), spaulders(4) or the personal mark that I usually wore affixed to my throat.

I chose an oak, it's branches reaching for the heavens, as my post and climbed quickly, faulds clinking as I gained altitude. After a moment, I had reached the top, raining fiery leaves in my wake as I settled. Whenever I'm busy with yomas and such, it's hard to appreciate the beauty of my region, but now I actually had time to watch the way sunlight reflects off of the river that winds around a mountain to the west, how the trees form an impenetrable barrier of green (or rather red at the moment) nor had I noticed that flash of blond ...

Wait a second... blond?

Thinking perhaps it was Miria returning with Raki or just another warrior passing through, I ignored the flash and settled back, sitting in a crook where branch met trunk. My mind began to wander, as it often did these days, to the one person who I care for more than Raki. Maybe even Theresa. Then again, 'cared' would be more accurate for Jean was dead.

And I don't think It's the same kind of care either. Not the sisterly care I feel for Raki or the daughterly affection I felt towards Theresa. Every time I picture her in my mind's eye, I feel heat begin to build between my thighs: a throbbing reminder of the fact that I had never told her how I really felt, not that I was sure myself. Just thinking about her death made tears well up in my eyes.

But I don't let them fall anymore.

I have to be strong... for her.

I must have fallen asleep because, next thing I knew, my body was stiffening as my ears picked up the gentle sound of leaves being crushed underfoot. I was instantly alert- perhaps it was an attack?

Then, my breath caught in my throat.

She was dead-she had to be.

We had all seen her die; Helen, Miria, Deneve and myself. Although... the body had never been found in the aftermath. Deneve had chalked it up a 'got eaten by the enemy' in her usual crass way.

Yet there she was, humming gently as she strode past my perch in the trees. Clad only in a simple leather tunic and cloth pants, she glanced up, winked , then ran off before I could even call her name.

"... Jean!" There was no response and without another thought, I leaped down, landed heavily and wound through trees that shed in coats of gold, red and orange. "Jean!"

My run was purely instinctive as was my sudden need to prove that the blond female I was chasing was actually real and not a phantasm conjured by my want to see her.

I ran all out, following the occasional flash of golden locks that flashed tauntingly every so often, and yet, I couldn't seem to catch up with the female. Not wanting to awaken my legs once again, I pushed a bit harder, using physical prowess rather then yoma power.

Trees gave away to thigh-high grass and I lost sight of Jean.

Damn. Since when was she so fast? Faster than Miria even...

Panting, my mad dash slowed to a jog then a complete stop. I fell into a crouch, grass reaching the top of my hair as memories flooded in unbidden.

_Pieta and it's region had been covered in a gray, chilled mass of snow._

_We had separated onto five squads, our leaders: Undine, Veronica, Flora, Miria and Jean herself. Then, we went to work._

_The first battle with the Awakened Beings of the south consisted of a team of only three of them and, amazingly enough, we had managed to survive it without any deaths. The only serious casualty had been the loss of Uma's arm. But she was a defensive type- nothing to worry about._

_I myself had managed to make it out virtually unscathed after my fight with that turtle... thing._

_Then, the second wave came. Made of quite a few Awakened Beings, each __much__ stronger than the earlier three; they had rushed the snow covered town._

_It was only three minutes into the battle and the death count had reached three Awakened Beings. And five of us._

_That was when I had noticed a surge of incredibly strong surge of yoma energy: Rigaldo the Silver-eyed Lion, as Miria later told me. _

_Veronica had been the first to die, shredded to scraps before anyone could blink. Undine had fallen shortly after. And then... Jean had been injured. The half lion- humanoid figure's arm had gone straight through her stomach just as she had uttered, "Stay back! Protect Flora! This one is targeting the leaders!" She fell without even a gasp of pain._

_I swear I saw red._

_Yoma energy surging through my veins, I charged Rigaldo, claymore raised and ready to taste more blood. He knocked me aside easily as though I was a mere fly and slit Flora in two with a vertical slice from his claws._

_That meant the only leader left... was Phantom Miria. The highest ranking out off all of us._

_This was bad. Without our leaders, our precision fighting force became scattered battles in which losing was eminent. At this rate, we would be eradicated._

_But none of these thoughts passed through my mind at the given moment. Two words pulsed in my ears with the same tempo of my heart:_

_Too. Slow._

_Had I been faster, I could have saved the others. Had I been faster, I could have saved Jean. But there was hope, right? The sane and, therefore, smaller part of my brain told me that it was too late- that the wounds were fatal. The majority however, argued that, if I was fast enough, I could save her. _

_Proving that I was bat-shit crazy._

_This time, Rigaldo launched himself at Miria and was met by the blades of Helen and Deneve, giving me the opportunity to strike... and miss. He broke free of their defense in an instant and thus, the game of cat and mouse began._

_I probably should have stopped. After Deneve got wounded and Miria was forced to use her Phantom to keep up with Rigaldo, I should have recognized my limits and STOPPED. But being who I am, I continued pushing myself and in the instant that Miria was wounded and Rigaldo was about to preform the final blow, my last sane thought was:_

_'I could have helped Jean and Flora... If I was faster... Why am I so slow?!'_

_I felt a writhing sensation in my legs as though a million ants were swarming beneath my skin and suddenly, I was fast enough. With a satisfying 'Shluck' my claymore had met and sliced through the Awakened Being's arm. He stood for a moment saying almost to himself, "This can't be. In an instant, you dashed between us and took off my arm. So fast... I completely lost sight of you for a moment." Silver eyes widened ever so slightly, "Only your legs have Awakened? Amazing. I didn't think it possible."_

_So that's what this new power was. I could feel my self edging towards the abyss, but I was too far gone to call the transformation back. My next rush ended with me colliding with a building, reducing it to ruins. As did the next, and the one after that. I still could not control this god-speed of mine, but my body adapted quickly._

_Careening wildly, my mind narrowed to one, single thought: More...more... I need more power!!_

_And in the instant before killing Rigaldo, my lust for blood had been impossible to ignore. Blade-like tendrils sprung from my arms and I killed him with my own hands._

_Remaining on the very edge of the void, I had begged Helen to kill me while I had at least a sliver of humanity of __left. That was when Jean had rejoined us. She had strode towards me calmly, unflinching when my blades sliced through flesh. "Our roles were reversed last time," she mused even as I begged her to leave me._

"_Live, Clare." had been her last words._

Faulds- metal 'skirt' worn to protect the thighs. Sabaton-metal boots they wear. Vambraces- armlets. Spaulders-Shoulder pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter switches to third person POV then back to Clare. Just a heads up. -gasp- I neglected to mention that Claymore does not belong to me, It belongs to the wonderful Norihiro Yagi. My bad...

"Miria, where exactly are we going?" Raki asked trailing a few steps behind said Claymore. She paused and glanced at him over her shoulder, "We're almost there." she said, ignoring the boy's question.

Raki stared at the elegant blond warrior's back for a moment before hastening to follow.

They were scaling the side of the mountain that Clare had been observing moments before, Miria slowing her pace so that the boy could keep up. As the incline grew steeper, his breathing became ragged.

"Where are we going? What's so secret that Clare can't know?" Raki persisted.

"You'll see."

With an impatient snort, the boy ducked under a low hanging branch and nearly tripped when Miria asked, "What's wrong with Clare? Even after you 'reappeared', she's still been so... distant." He had never told them about Isley or Priscilla and saw it fit that they never knew.

"I-I don't know... Maybe it has something to do with Jean?" His expression became sombre as he remembered the look on Clare's face when she told him about Jean's death.

The blond woman went silent, sabatons(1) making no sound on the earthy terrain. After a few yards,they came to a cave and she drew to a stop, drew her claymore and buried it's tip in the earth before sitting with her back to it. "We'll wait here," she declared. A relieved Raki fell onto his back, panting and she chuckled, smiling fondly.

She had really come to like the boy in the short time she had known him and saw why Clare would want to protect him. He had a boyish innocence that just screamed 'protect me'.

Cooling fall air gusted into the cave and kissed Raki's sweaty forehead, tousling light brown hair (a/n sorry If that's wrong, that's what It looks like to me and I have only ever read the manga up to volume 11.)as he lay prone. "...Hey, Miria?"

"Hn?"

"D-do you maybe think t-that..." He was turning red and Miria leaned over to look him over, "You're not getting sick are you?" the blond warrior questioned, "you're turning red."

"No, no!" Raki said quickly, "it's just..." He took a deep breath, "DoyouthinkClareisinlovewithJean?" Miria blinked and it took her a moment to depict his sentence.

"So you've noticed it too?" she said at last, "yes, I believe she is."

_"Damn... I was hoping that maybe Clare and I-" _Raki shook his head to clear it of such thoughts and asked, "I never did get to meet her, what's she like?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" came a new voice from the mouth of the cave. The woman standing there was just about Clare's height with blond, shoulder-length hair, tendrils of it hanging in her eyes. She possessed the tell-tale silver eyes of a Claymore and Raki jumped up, training with Isley kicking in as he searched for a weapon of some kind.

Again, Miria chuckled. "Relax, Raki. This is Jean."

Raki's jaw dropped, "But, I thought she was..."

"Dead?" Jean completed, "no, I managed to survive thanks to Miria here."

She gave a respectful nod of her head to Miria who rolled her eyes, "You act as though I'm the one who did the regenerating. Really, you have the strangest sense of courtesy."

"Still, I owe you my life."

"And I give it to Clare." Miria responded easily, "I'm sure she'll love it."

A stare-down commenced until Raki cleared his throat and asked, "How did you survive?"

Jean turned to face him, "You know that I was fatally wounded, correct?" The boy nodded. "You also know that our kind can regenerate limbs and such?"

Raki nodded slowly, "But I though you were an offensive type. Wouldn't a wound like that be too severe?"

"That would be the case," Miria agreed, "unless the host found flesh that was still fresh to replace it."

Raki paled, "You mean she ate one of the other Clay-er- warriors?" Jean smiled slightly, "Thank you for catching yourself. In any case, I didn't do anything as gruesome as that."

"So what did you do?"

"I used Rigaldo's arm. There wasn't anything else left after Clare was done with him. And I'm _still _scrubbing the taste of yoma flesh from my tongue."

Raki noticed that way her eyes softened when she said the other warrior's name. "So why haven't you gone to see her? It's been almost a month!"

Here, Jean looked at Miria. "I wouldn't allow her," the spiky haired blond answered.

"Why not?!"

That earned Raki a level gaze. "Think about it. Jean has already Awakened before and now, a huge chunk of her is Awakened Being flesh. What would happen if she was to lose control? She has already taken on Rigaldo's speed."

Raki shook his head, "Yes, but-"

"Leave it, Raki, Miria has every reason to worry." Jean said.

"Which reminds me, why were you late? You should have been here a while ago. You didn't go to see Clare, did you?"

Jean scratched the back of her head, expression sheepish, "Not exactly... She caught sight of me on my way here."

"Mhmm."

"I'm serious!" The woman looked hopeful, "Am I free to go?"

"Fight me," Miria said unexpectedly, pulling the gigantic sword from it's earthy sheath. "You cannot use your yoma energy. If you don't get pushed past your limits and Awaken, you're free to go."

Clare's POV.

I'm going mad, that's the only explanation. The dead do _not_ just randomly get up and walk around.

My return to the house was wrapped in a thoughtful silence as I attempted to sort my churning mind. There were a few possibilities that could explain Jeans appearance:

1. Over active imagination on my part

2. I'm not getting enough rest.

3. I truly am losing all sanity to the Yoma part of me.

I don't even want to entertain the third possibility and the first is unlikely- I am pretty level headed right? Besides, that would mean I'm becoming more like Ophelia- now_ that's _a scary prospect. It's been a while since I actually cried, perhaps my body is adapting to the emotional barrier I broke a couple weeks back? But why now?

I paused mid-step as a flash of Yoma energy came from the west mountains. "_Miria?"_ Turning to face that direction, I tilted my head, "_It's none of my business. Miria can handle herself, right?"_ Still, the sense that I should check things out lingered.

_"I've seen Miria fight before and she can handle her own against Awakened Beings," _I reminded myself stubbornly, "_She'll be fine!" _My trek continued until the sturdy wood roof came into view, bluish- black against a red-leaved background. Then, once again, I paused, sensing a particularly strong surge from Miria. I recognized it as the warrior using her famous Phantom speed. The other energy source was barely definable._ "What on Earth could she be doing?"_

I let out a exasperated sigh and headed inside, casting all thoughts of battle and a certain blond warrior from my mind. Right now, I just needed to relax.

The door swung open without protest as I let myself inside. This house was one of the ones I used most often whenever I'm in my region. The previous owners -a young married couple- gave it to me as a show of gratitude after I saved them from a yoma attack. They had fled the region shortly after.

The house was wooden, consisting of three rooms: a kitchen and two bedrooms. These rooms were stocked with only what was needed: pots, pans and various food items in the kitchen and a bed, desk, trunk for personal belongings and a wardrobe for each room. The interior walls were painted a forest green while the outside was white washed.

However, my favorite feature was at the end of a short, well used path out back; a natural hot spring. Just the thought of the warm, steamy waters makes me sigh with delight. Thus saying, I gathered my bathing things and went back outside.

Alrighty, chapter three should be the end. Thank you for reading thus far! And thanks to **shelter** for reviewing -grin-

(1) Sabatons-metal boots


	3. Chapter 3

Here it is: the final chapter. I'm surprised at how many hits this got, thanks! Terribly sorry for the wait. Enjoy.

What I _had_ planned was a nice, relaxing bath.

That, however, was completely destroyed by Raki's arrival. He was panting like a beached whale, face red from exertion.

_Damn this kid..._ I love him, yes, but there was only so much I could take.

"What is it, Raki? What happened? Where's Miria?" I asked patiently, already half in the water. It seems he had just noticed my nakedness because he turned a shade redder then he already was from running.

The boy let out a stream of half-stammered, half-panted speech and I managed to understand a few words. My eyes narrowed, "Miria's wounded from a fight with an Awakened Being?"

He nodded, swallowed a few times then, gasped out, "It's Jean, she's alive! Miria wanted to make sure she wouldn't hurt anybody so she challenged her to a fight! Then, Jean Awakened and injured Miria!"

My heart paused mid-beat, then it's efforts quadrupled, "... What?"

"I'm not sure how badly injured she is, you have to hurry!"

"B-but I didn't sense any yoma energy-"

As if on cue, a sharp flare of energy came from the west mountains.

"Shit! Raki, stay here whatever happens. I'll go and help Miria!" As quickly as my drenched skin let me, I pulled my clothes on and hauled ass.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I arrived at my destination in no time and immediately began scouring the mountain side for blood, displaced earth, broken trees; anything that signified a battle had occurred.

Eventually, I came upon a cave opening, light shining faintly from it's innards.

Approaching without a weapon might be a dumb idea, but Miria couldn't exactly wait while I rushed home to grab my claymore. Time was of the essence. Cautiously, I edged forward, venturing deeper and deeper until I came to a circular cavern.

On one wall, I waterfall bubbled, rising from an underground spring and in the direct center was a merry fire, it's light reflecting off of the water's surface.

Beside the waterfall was another passage in which two silver eyes hung,"Hello, Clare. It's been a while."

I stood stock-still, outwardly calm, but inside, I was trying not to panic as a woman stepped out of the shadows, clad in the same uniform I was.

"Jean..."

She was just as I remembered her: slim willowy build, blond hair hanging in her eyes and that same gentle smile on her elegant face. Those silver eyes that marked us as half-monsters only marked her as an exotic beauty. An exotic, _dangerous_, beauty.

"Where's Miria?"

She padded closer, stopping a few paces in front of me, "Around, I imagine. Sorry about scaring Raki, but I had to get rid of him and get you to come here."

I stiffened, "He told me you two were fighting."

Jean held her arms away from her body as if to prove she was harmless, "I admit we did, but Miria merely wanted to test my limits and make sure I wouldn't harm anyone. Her wounds were superficial."

A heavy silence formed for several seconds.

"How are you even here!?" My voice cracked despite my best efforts, "I _saw_ you die!"

"No, you saw me fall." The blond warrior corrected, "As you can see, I am very much alive."

Suddenly, she closed the gap between us, face inches from mine, "One would think you weren't glad to see me..." That smile was replaced by a questioning look.

Without a thought, the words left my mouth: "Of course I'm glad to see you! I've been wanting to see you because I never got a chance to..." I trailed off, not totally prepared to admit what my heart wanted me too. I loved her or, at least, as close to love as our kind could manage. But would she feel the same?

"A chance to...?" The woman prompted. Her eyes focused intently on mine and I found I couldn't look away.

"Ever since you died... I've regretted not telling you... how I feel." I took a deep, steadying breath, "Jean-"

And all conscious thought left as her lips met mine in a kiss. It was short, chaste, but it still shocked me, "Jean-?"

"Relax, Clare. I know how you feel." I must have look surprised because she added, "You held on to me a bit too tightly that first time we met. I had my suspicions and this confirms it."

And that was it- I needed her _now_. My eyes flicked from her haunting silver eyes to her lips and, taking the hint, Jean leaned in again.

This time, the kiss was all the lust, bottled up for what felt like forever, and a question. A question that was answered by Jean pushing me to the cave floor and straddling my hips. Slim fingers slid under the hem of my shirt and yanked it up, pausing our kiss for a moment as the article was disposed of.

The uniform was skin tight and most chose to wear nothing underneath, myself included. I thanked whatever gods came into mind for that as Jean's hands brushed over my stomach on their way to my now-soaking pants. They were pulled down and thrown across the room to join my shirt.

Now I was completely bare to Jean's gaze and we separated, breathing shallow. Jean leaned back a bit, silver eyes trailing down the length of my body. Then, she pressed her lips to mine before making a trail of butterfly kisses down to my collarbone which she nipped. "Are you sure about this, Clare?"

The uncertainty in her eyes stopped me from laughing, 'A bit late for that now!' and instead, I nodded.

Satisfied, she returned to her previous task, mouth dropping lower to envelope the tip of an erect nipple, making me gasp and arch my back. One hand went to my unoccupied breast as her tongue circled it's prize, the fingers massaging and kneading.

I whimpered, tugging her hair so that I could kiss her again and she came obligingly. My focus, however, was on the hand that was tracing an intricate pattern on my inner thigh. It slid higher to cup my sex.

I gasped.

"You're really, really, wet." Jean teased. With a lone digit, she traced my slit, then brought it up to her mouth to taste, "Mmmm."

"Don't... tease... me," I ground out, earning a grin. The blond warrior's hand returned to it's previous location, fluttering over the triangle of golden hair that protected my secret flesh from prying eyes.

Without warning, two fingers were thrust into me and, with a ripping sensation, my hymen was severed. There was no time to feel pain as pressure built up in my stomach, a spiral of pleasure that wound tighter and tighter, it's destination: a heaven on Earth.

A moan was ripped from my throat as her thumb flicked my clit and I buried my face in the crook of her neck, biting down on it's elegant curve as my hips met her thrust by thrust of their own volition.

A third finger was added and I saw stars as my climax made my body go rigid and my vaginal walls clenched in an attempt to prolong the sensation.

Jean didn't stop until the last shudder left my body and when it did, she pulled out her fingers and licked them off slowly, enticingly.

The moment I regained my breath, I shifted my weight, taking Jean by surprise and flipping her onto her back. The tables were turned and I took full advantage of it. "You know, I've been wanting to do this forever," I mused, enjoying the look of hunger on my new-found lover's face. Impatiently, I stripped her, almost tearing the fabric from her body in my haste. As mentioned before, the skin tight uniform left very little room for undergarments.

I positioned myself between her legs, one hand on the small of her back and the other on her stomach. Her sex was completely bare, giving me a clear view of the pearl nestled between her femenin lips and, moving by pure instinct, I stuck my tongue out and traced her labia, finding her taste strange, but good. Tangy and sharp. I found her hymen, but decided to leave that for another time.

If I had my way, there would be _many_ other times_._

She gasped sharply as I used the index finger on both hands to part her folds and lick at the pink flesh within. I listened carefully to each response I got -a moan here, a soft yelp there- creating a map of the amazing body before me with a meticulousness that left her writhing.

Jean screamed my name as she came.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Amazing, no? I had lost my virginity, regained a friend(now lover) and found love._

_All in the Aftermath of Pieta._

**Whatever happened to Raki?(for those of you who are wondering what he and Miria were doing)**

"Miria, you're ok!" Raki yelled, rushing forward to let the warrior into the house.

The moment the door opened, Miria stepped inside and shut it behind her, "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" Her sleeve was torn from the slash he had seen her receive, but the pale skin remained unmarred.

"B-but Jean Awakened and-"

"And gave me a scratch," the woman interrupted, "really, Raki, you love blowing things out of proportion."

The boy blushed, then cocked his head, "Where's Clare? She left to get you about ten minutes ago."

"With Jean, I would imagine. They should be back-" Her statement was interrupted by the sound of Jean screaming Clare's name. "-By tommorow at least."

Raki's expression was perplexed, "Was that Jean?"

"Yes."

"Shouldn't we go and see if she needs help?"

"No... I don't think they'd like that."

"... Why?"

Miria put an arm around the young man's shoulders and led him away from the door, ignoring his blush, "Perhaps I'll tell you later... when you're older."

Fin.

Thanks for reading and a big thanks to reviewers! The last chapter didn't go too fast, did it? If there are any corrections I need to make with spelling, content, ect, please feel free to drop me a PM or email. Thanks again!


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